Comments (0)Oren Offers to Return to Irvine University
March 11, 2010Jerusalem
JTA Wire Service
Israel’s U.S. ambassador has offered to return to the California university where students interrupted his speech last month.
Michael Oren in an open letter Monday said he would meet with students at the University of California, Irvine who disagree with his point of view.
The letter to the university community was published on the Web site of the New University campus newspaper.
Oren was interrupted repeatedly during a speech Feb. 8 at the university, which for years has been at the center of campus wars over Israel. Eleven students were arrested for disturbing the lecture.
University President Mark Yudof and Chancellor Michael Drake apologized to Oren over the incident.
In his letter, Oren said, “I came to UCI for the opportunity to exchange ideas—a reasonable intention that was hijacked by a minority of students. The disruptive measures exhibited by these students only underscore the importance for dialogue, especially on the frontline of higher learning.
“The tragic fallout from this lecture is that those impassioned individuals most needing exposure to the Israeli perspective—and also needing to address their concerns in an appropriate manner—chose not to listen but rather to disrupt the event. Their methods, though championed by some, undermine the democratic principles on which the university system rests.”
Hundreds of demonstrators converged last week on the university’s administration building in support of the 11 arrested students. A counter-demonstration with about 60 protesters was organized by area Jewish organizations.
Brooklyn Rabbi Found Guilty of Sexual Assault
A Brooklyn rabbi was found guilty of sexually assaulting a male teenager.
A Brooklyn Supreme Court jury on Tuesday found Baruch Lebovits guilty on eight of 10 counts, the New York Daily News reported.
Lebovits, 59, who owns a travel agency in Borough Park, was convicted of sexually molesting the Jewish teen in 2004 and 2005. He faces up to seven years in prison.
The victim, now 22, testified last week that the rabbi assaulted him in his car several times over a 10-month period, luring him into the vehicle with promises that he could drive, the Daily News reported.
Lebovits is awaiting trial on charges of molesting two other minors, according to the paper.
Reform Task Force: Reach Out to Interfaith Couples
The Reform movement should encourage interfaith couples to stay in the Jewish community, a task force proposed.
A task force on intermarriage created by the Central Conference of American Rabbis proposed that the movement find ways to reach out to intermarried families, for example by creating special blessings for the non-Jewish spouses participating in events such as weddings and funerals, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The findings are a change from the conference’s policy of trying to prevent intermarriage.
The movement is opposed to its rabbis officiating at interfaith weddings, though each rabbi can make his or her own decision. The task force did not propose a change in that policy, according to the AP.
The two-year study was presented at the CCAR’s annual meeting in San Francisco.
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.